Orange-Ulster BOCES chief leaving this year

Goshen — The Orange-Ulster BOCES chief, Terry Olivo, will be leaving in June, as the state education department gets tough on BOCES whose leaders' pay exceed a salary cap.

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By JOHN SULLIVAN

recordonline.com

By JOHN SULLIVAN

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jan 31, 2013 at 7:52 AM

By JOHN SULLIVAN

Posted Jan. 31, 2013 at 2:00 AM
Updated Jan 31, 2013 at 7:52 AM

» Social News

Goshen — The Orange-Ulster BOCES chief, Terry Olivo, will be leaving in June, as the state education department gets tough on BOCES whose leaders' pay exceed a salary cap.

The decision will ensure that the new head of the BOCES will be paid substantially less than Olivo, whose salary is $238,030 for the 2012-2013 school year. BOCES superintendent salaries are capped under state law. The current cap is $166,762.

The board of Orange-Ulster BOCES opted to go around the cap in 2010-2011 by calling off its search for a superintendent and giving Olivo — hired to conduct that search — the title of chief operating officer. An interim superintendent position was created and has been held in name only by John C. Pennoyer, the superintendent of Dutchess BOCES.

Olivo also has a pension of $168,783, which he collected after retiring as superintendent of Monroe-Woodbury in 2004.

In October, State Education Commissioner John King Jr. sent strongly worded letters to three BOCES, including Orange-Ulster, where others performed the superintendent job. King's letter to BOCES dated Oct. 17 expresses "disappointment" for not having filled the superintendent seat since the departure of the last superintendent, Robert Hanna, in 2007. The letter also demanded a list of superintendent applicants already interviewed for the job, the dates of their interviews, and a recruitment plan by BOCES to fill the position.

BOCES responded with a Nov. 5 letter, stating its renewed commitment to finding a superintendent, as well as a schedule of that search starting Nov. 16.

Olivo said Tuesday that he had intended to leave this year regardless of the Oct. 17 letter from King. Though he did not state that intent publicly, he did notify the Orange-Ulster BOCES board of his intent in the spring, he said.

"It was not a secret," he said, adding, "I'm at the point in my career where I believe it's time to move on and do other things."

Carl Onken, president of the board, as well as other board members, could not be reached for comment.

Olivo said he feared his BOCES would run into the same difficulty he faced in finding qualified applicants during his failed search for a superintendent in 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The current search will be done by Pennoyer, who did not know what prompted Olivo's retirement or when it was announced, he said.

Olivo explained that superintendent salaries under the state cap remain $15,000 less in our region than school superintendents who must report to the BOCES chief.

King acknowledged the relationship between the pay and strong applicants in his Oct. 17 letter to Orange-Ulster.

"However, other BOCES have found capable leaders to serve as District Superintendent, despite the salary cap," the commissioner said in the letter.